People
The Sardarni Who Met His Dare
… And Had Her Abuser Arrested:
Jasleen Kaur
RITUPARNA CHATTERJEE
New Delhi, India
At 8 pm on Sunday, August 23, 2015, a major traffic intersection in Delhi's Tilak Nagar was far from deserted. There were people milling around and commuters were waiting at the traffic signal when a bespectacled man on a motorcycle rode up next to a young woman.
And in front of at least 20 people who were present at the spot at that time, the man, wearing a red baseball cap, allegedly mouthed vulger abuses at the woman. When she protested and warned him that she'll post his photo on Facebook, she claims he asked her to go right ahead if she dared.
It turns out, she did.
The woman, Jasleen Kaur, took her abuser up on his challenge and on Monday the unknown man's face was on national television and across websites, after a Facebook post by her describing her ordeal went viral.
"This man made obscene comments on me today at around 8 pm near Aggarwal, Tilak Nagar. He was on a silver Royal Enfield, vehicle number - DL 4S CE 3623. When I told him that im clicking his picture and i'm going to file a complaint against him, he responded by posing for the picture and said- "Jo kar sakti hai kar le. Complaint karke dikha, fir dekhiyo kya karta hun main (do whatever you want to do. File a complaint and then see what I shall do)," wrote Jasleen on her Facebook page, a post which now has nearly 26,000 shares.
She further observed: "But there was something that is disturbing me much more than his obscene remarks -- the fact that it was a red traffic signal and 20 other people heard what he was telling me. Yes, no one minded. No one intervened. No one stood up for me. I decided to stand up for myself and lodged a complaint in Tilak Nagar police station with his photo and vehicle number."
The man is seen wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans and looking directly at the camera while other commuters are seen around him waiting for the light to change from red to green.
"I could've written here exactly what he said in his comments, but i don't want Facebook to remove my post," Jasleen said, alluding to obscene comments the man allegedly made.
TV channels reported that the man was arrested on Monday.
Jasleen Kaur was awarded Rs 5000 for her courage by the Delhi police.
[Courtesy: Huffington Post. Edited for sikhchic.com]
August 25, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Kashmira Singh (London, United Kingdom), August 25, 2015, 8:22 AM.
Well done, Jasleen Kaur. The men need to learn to treat all females as their sister/mother/daughter; i.e., with respect. Hopefully he will learn his lesson. I understand his mother is blaming Jasleen and calling her a liar. She should think of her own daughters and ask whether she would be happy for her daughter to be abused like this.
2: Bhai Harbans Lal (Dallas, Texas, USA), August 25, 2015, 9:05 AM.
Jasleen ji, you showed the way. I hope others will follow your lead and report the degenerates. You also put to shame the Indians who watched all the insults and did not raise a finger. I would have liked to see their faces on the Facebook too.
3: Baldev Singh (Bradford , United Kingdom), August 25, 2015, 9:51 AM.
A burst of pepper spray into the face of this misogynistic moron would have turned the situation into quite a spectacle for the idiotic bystanders. Sikh females in Delhi know that in India, torture, rape, murder and pillage are spectator sports. Well done, Jasleen Kaur, and please invest in a mace or pepper spray and I'm sure your confidence will go through the roof.
4: Kaala Singh (Punjab), August 25, 2015, 2:46 PM.
From the picture, this guy looks a typical Hindi-speaking, Delhi born and bred, assimilated, young Sikh who has acquired "Hindu colours" and harassed a Sikh woman. The woman doesn't need to fear guys of this kind as they are only good at talking. Anyways, good show by the girl.
5: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), August 25, 2015, 8:46 PM.
If the perpetrator of the gratuitous abuse is from a Sikh ancestry, then what the heck is he doing replicating the culture of a patriarchal, misogynistic, and violent society based on mob rule and justice? Don't Sikhs normally come to the rescue of and respect females across the world?
6: Ravinder Singh Khalsa (USA), August 26, 2015, 12:36 AM.
This guy is a disgrace.